While Thierry Henry made headlines for scoring his first MLS goal, the San Jose Earthquakes wish that moment had come at a later date.
Henry's 63rd-minute strike capped a 2-0-road loss for the Quakes. Although the Red Bulls controlled a majority of the possession, San Jose's head coach Frank Yallop and the team came away feeling like they had a shot.
"“I thought we had a pretty good performance tonight, but we did not finish the chances when we had them," Yallop said. "They are a good team, especially going forward and you have to give them credit for finishing their opportunities. We had four or five solid chances and on another night we finish those. We were a bit unfortunate not to get something out of the game.”
The 2-0 score wasn't the only loss San Jose will endure. Bobby Convey picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, resulting in an automatic one-game suspension. His absence against Houston means the Quakes will be without their top two options on the left side of defense.
Looking ahead, the Quakes have 10 matches remaining - five at home, five on the road - and are No. 8 in the playoff standings.
AROUND MLS
The Kansas City Wizards helped their playoff cause with a 2-0 win over a struggling LA Galaxy. Davy Arnaud struck first in the 12th minute and Jimmy Conrad tacked on another in the 70th.
Fredy Montero netted a game-winner in the 92nd minute to lead Seattle Sounders FC past the Chicago Fire, 2-1. Former Sounders FC designated player Freddie Ljungberg returned to Seattle for the first time since being traded to Chicago and was welcomed by a sea of boos.
The Colorado Rapids did their playoff hopes a favor by dismantling the Houston Rapids 3-0 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids are No. 7 in the playoff standings, two points ahead of the San Jose Earthquakes.
Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake battled to a scoreless draw at BMO Field.
FC Dallas didn't score, but managed to extend its unbeaten streak to 12 with a clean sheet of their own against Eastern Conference leading Columbus.
Jack McInerney equalized in the 82nd and Justin Mapp found the go-ahead goal in the 92nd to lead the Philadelphia Union to a dramatic 2-1 win against the New England Revolution in Foxborough, Mass.
Justin Braun's 13th-minute header stood up as the decisive goal in a 1-0 win for Chivas USA over D.C. United.
